The present invention relates generally to product display devices for use in storing and merchandising shelved products and, more particularly, to a product display and storage unit adapted to attach to the underside portion of an existing shelf located immediately thereabove thereby making use of the space already existing between conventional product shelving. Although the present unit is designed primarily for use in a wide variety of refrigerated display cases presently used in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other food and beverage outlets, it is likewise adaptable for use in many other product display and merchandising applications.
A wide variety of shelving and display devices have been designed and manufactured for use in merchandising shelved products to consumers. These devices are commonly used in convenience stores, grocery stores and the like to store and display products such that they can be easily seen and retrieved by a customer. The dual storage and merchandising function performed by product shelving is particularly important due to the limited space available within a given store or merchandising area. Space for merchandising and storing products in supermarkets, convenience stores, or other food/beverage outlets is limited by the square footage of the particular facility in question. This space is further limited by the fact that various areas of the store must serve functions other than storage and display of products, such as checkout areas, warehouse areas, and aisles through which customers and employees of the facility can walk. Increasing warehouse space for storage of additional products is undesirable because this means the merchant must sacrifice a proportionate amount of space that could be used for displaying and selling products. Expansion of available space by undertaking construction projects to add on to the facility is costly and may be limited or rendered impossible by the size of the lot or by adjacent facilities. The problem of space is particularly acute in the environment of a convenience store since these types of stores generally have much less space to work with than do traditional grocery stores.
Thus, the inefficient use of available shelf space, particularly the vertical space between adjacent shelves, is one of the major problems associated with the storage and display of shelved products for sale to consumers. This problem is exacerbated when it comes to storing shelved products requiring refrigeration in display coolers and other types of cold vaults due to the costs associated with cooling each unit of area used to store cold items. Because of these costs, a merchant has only a limited space in which to display and merchandise cold items and every area of refrigerated-but-unused space costs the merchant money.
The space between conventional product shelves is generally more than sufficient to store and display certain products. As a result, there exists a potentially useful but unused space between the top of the products stored on one shelf and the bottom of the shelf located immediately above. This space comprises valuable real estate to the merchant because it is additional space that can be utilized to store and merchandise products. By making use of this space, the merchant is able to store and merchandise additional products without having to expand the store or encroach on areas of the store dedicated to other purposes. In the case of refrigerated items, the merchant is able to store and merchandise additional products without having to bear the costs of additional refrigeration units or other merchandising equipment.
Thus, there exists a need for a product storage and merchandising unit that is able to take advantage of this unused space and thereby allow the merchant to realize maximum profit from space that is already available for use.
The present invention overcomes many of the problems associated with the lack of storage and display space in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other food and beverage outlets and teaches the construction of several embodiments of a horizontally arranged product merchandising and storage unit which can be used for both chilled and unchilled products, which is particularly well-suited to merchandising and displaying a wide variety of products therefrom such as energy drinks, soft drinks, fruit juices, dairy products, and the like, and which is capable of utilizing the generally unused space immediately below a convention shelf. The present units are adapted for use with existing product shelving and are suspended therefrom such that they hang beneath an existing product shelf. The present units provide a support structure for display and storage of products therefrom as well as for gravity feeding products to maintain such products within easy reach of a customer.
One embodiment of the present shelf unit includes first and second side members, each side member including a plurality of openings spaced along an upper edge portion thereof in order to provide a mechanism by which the unit may be secured to a conventional shelf located thereabove. A plurality of transverse members extend at least substantially across the width of the present unit in spaced apart relationship to each other between the first and second side members. The transverse members are arranged in a generally parallel fashion and provide stability and support to the overall unit. At least one stop member extends between the first and second side members adjacent the front portion of the unit to retain the products therewithin when the unit is mounted beneath a conventional shelf.
A plurality of channel members extend longitudinally along at least substantially the length of the unit forming segregated channels in which products may be stored. The channel members extend upwardly from a position adjacent the front stop member and then extend longitudinally along the length of the unit before extending downwardly for attachment to the rearwardmost transverse member. The channel members are spaced in generally parallel arrangement forming at least two product channels in which products may be stored. A plurality of longitudinal members likewise extend at least substantially along the length of the device adjacent the transverse members between the front and rearwardmost transverse members forming a track-like bottom surface for supporting products thereon. The longitudinal members are arranged such that at least two such members are positioned and located within each product channel for supporting products when positioned thereon. The spacing and arrangement of the longitudinal members within each product channel can be varied depending upon the particular type of products to be stored and displayed therein.
Attachment members are also provided for attaching the present unit to the underside of existing shelf units. Depending upon the type of merchandising equipment in which the present unit will be used, the attachment members may take the form of a plurality of hook members sized and shaped such that one end of a hook member may be received within one of the plurality of openings in a side member and the other end of the hook member may be fastened or otherwise engaged to the underside of an existing product shelf, or such attachment members may take the form of a plurality of tie members sized and shaped so as to loop through a respective opening in a side member and around a member associated with the underside portion of an existing product shelf located above. Any number of attachment members may be used to properly orient and position the present unit below the shelf member located immediately thereabove.
Another embodiment of the present unit includes a plurality of openings associated with the lower edge portion of each respective side member or side wall for receiving suitable attachment members for attaching the present unit to a shelf member located thereabove, the location of the openings associated with each side wall or side member providing different attachment options to the user and, in some cases, better stability depending upon the particular type of shelf member to which it is attached.
Thus the present devices provide a convenient means for utilizing valuable but previously unused space between existing product shelves, particularly existing shelves within a wide variety of different refrigerated display units. The present devices can also be easily oriented to provide convenient gravity feeding of the products stored within each product channel. Furthermore, the present devices provide a convenient means by which pricing and other merchandising information regarding the products stored therein may be conveyed to the customer.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the following detailed specification which discloses several representative embodiments of the present product storage and merchandising unit in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.